Robocalls targeting three local House districts with strong message against income tax hike

By on June 1, 2017   /   Illinois, Illinois Press, Items of Interest, Latest, Press  

Jim Tobin, Taxpayers United of America’s (TUA) president, was quoted in the Madison-St. Clair Record’s article about TUA’s efforts to ensure the defeat of any proposed Illinois state income tax rate hikes.

 
A proposal increasing state income taxes by 32 percent that passed in the State Senate by Democrats only has inspired the state GOP to target certain House district with robocalls in advance of a possible vote.
Calls going into local districts of state representatives Dan Beiser (D-111), Katie Stuart (D-112) and Jerry Costello (D-116) will in part warn:
“Over the weekend, NBC news reported that 46 Democrats in the Illinois House are committed to voting for a 32 percent income tax increase with no reforms to grow jobs or deliver property tax relief.
“House Speaker Mike Madigan’s plan to force higher taxes without reforms will be one of the largest tax hikes in state history.”
The caller then advises listeners to reach out to their representatives to oppose Madigan’s “tax-and-spend plan without reforms.”
Robocalls are going into 19 House districts across the state, according to a release from the Illinois Republican Party.
Taxpayers United of America (TUA) president Jim Tobin stated in a press release that taxpayers are increasingly venting anger and frustration over tax increase proposals, as they already pay some of the highest state and local taxes in the nation.
The income tax proposal that recently passed by all 32 Democrat senators would raise the individual tax rate from 3.75 to 4.95 percent and it woudl also raise the state corporate tax rte to 9.5 percent. No Republican senator voted in favor of the measure.
“No wonder Illinois has lost more residents than any other state for the third consecutive year,” Tobin stated. “And Chicago, the most corrupt city in the nation, was the only city of the nation’s 20 largest cities to lose population in 2016.”
The TUA press release cited a Chicago Sun Times accounting of taxpayer frustration.
“You dirt bags stop screwing the taxpayers,” posted one person on Facebook, the release states.
Another taxpayer commented, “Keep your grubby hands off our tax money you crook.”
“How dare you raise my taxes in this corrupt state. You are ruining people’s lives with your tax and spend ways,” wrote another.
“Illinois is bankrupt due to the huge deficits of its government-employee pension funds,” Tobin stated. “It is too late for the state to tax itself out of this predicament. Puerto Rico recently declared bankruptcy, and it looks more and more like this is the only salvation for Illinois.”
Even if the House passed the Senate’s tax increase bill, it would likely be vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Whether it could be overridden is uncertain.
Lawmakers convene today and again tomorrow, the last day of the General Assembly’s regular session. If a budget agreement is not reached, lawmakers could go into overtime where any deals would require a three-fifths or super majority vote for approval, versus a simple majority vote in regular session.

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Taxpayers Revolt Against Illinois State Senate Income Tax Hike

By on May 30, 2017   /   Illinois, Latest, News Releases, Taxpayer Alert  

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CHICAGO—Illinois taxpayers, hammered by some of the highest state and local taxes in the nation, are increasingly venting their anger and frustration toward the State Senate and House Democrats who hold the state in their death-grip, notes Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United of America (TUA).
“The Democrats in the State Senate just voted to raise the already-high state personal income tax from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent, a 32 percent increase. They also voted to raise the state corporate rate to 9.5 percent,” said Tobin. “These tax increases would be retroactive to January 1. All 32 Democrat Senators voted for the increases. Not a single Republican supported these job-killing tax increases.”
“No wonder Illinois has lost more residents than any other state for the third consecutive year. And Chicago, the most corrupt city in the nation, was the only city of the nation’s 20 largest cities to lose population in 2016.”
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that taxpayers blasted notorious tax-raiser, State. Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D-40, Chicago Heights), who helped pass the income tax increase in the senate.
“You dirt bags stop screwing the taxpayers,” posted one person on Facebook.
Another taxpayer commented, “Keep your grubby hands off our tax money you crook.”
“How dare you raise my taxes in this corrupt state. You are ruining people’s lives with your tax and spend ways,” wrote another angry taxpayer.
“Now the state income tax increases go to the State House of Representatives, controlled by Chicago machine boss Michael Madigan (D-22, Chicago). Hopefully, Madigan will come to his senses and kill this fiscally-suicidal measure in the house,” said Tobin. “And if not, we trust that Gov. Rauner (R) will do the right thing and veto the income tax hike.”
“Illinois is bankrupt due to the huge deficits of its government-employee pension funds. It is too late for the state to tax itself out of this predicament. Puerto Rico recently declared bankruptcy, and it looks more and more like this is the only salvation for Illinois.” 

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11th Annual Report Illinois State Pensions

By on May 10, 2017   /   Illinois, Items of Interest, Latest, News Releases, Pension Reform, Taxpayer Alert  

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Unsustainable Illinois Govt. Pensions Driving State to Bankruptcy

CHICAGO — Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today released the results of its 11th Annual Illinois State Pensions Report. This new report analyzes government retiree pensions from Illinois’ General Assembly Retirement System (GARS), Judges’ Retirement System (JRS), Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), State Universities Retirement System (SURS), State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS), and the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF).
Click below to view the data from TUA’s 11th Annual Illinois State Pensions Report

Surveying the increasing number of government retirees and the growth of their pensions over the past few decades provides a greater understanding of the financial burden facing Illinois taxpayers. Nearly two years ongoing, Illinois’ current budget crisis is mainly due to the exorbitant costs of the government pension system supported by Democrats and Republicans like Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and former Gov. Jim Edgar. Government pension payments now devour billions of tax dollars every year to line the pockets of retired government employees.
TUA’s research exposes the magnitude of Illinois’ financial crisis by examining the vast number of retired government employees collecting lavish six-figure annual pensions. 17,000 former government employees each collect annual pensions of at least $100,000, costing taxpayers more than $2 billion this year alone.
Taxpayers work longer and receive far less in retirement than government employees, who often retire in their early 50s with taxpayer-funded pensions worth multiple times the annual maximum Social Security retirement benefit for taxpayers, which is $32,000 if working until 66.
Based on data collected through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, TUA’s analysis of Illinois government pensions reveals nearly 100,000 Illinois government retirees now collect annual pensions of $50,000 or more, an increase of more than 7,000 additional government retirees since TUA’s 2016 Annual Illinois State Pensions Report.
How much these pensioners paid into their own retirement, in contrast to their generous payouts, is shocking.
For many government retirees, within two years they will collect more money in retirement than they contributed to their own pension. These gold-plated government pensions, subsidized by taxpayers, accumulate to multi-million dollar payouts over a natural lifetime. Using this data to calculate the estimated lifetime pension payout totals for these government retirees underscores the ever-increasing liabilities of defined-benefit government pensions. The system is an untenable burden on taxpayers and increasingly consumes billions of tax dollars in the state budget, worsening with every new hire and retiree adding to the cost.
The Illinois State Constitution’s pension-protection clause – Article XIII, Section 5 – chains generations of taxpayers to an uncontrolled financial burden foolishly created decades ago by politicians in Springfield. It must be amended for a sustainable financial future. Taxpayers are unable to pay this enormous cost, as the budget crisis clearly shows, and without changes, taxpayers will otherwise continue to leave Illinois by the thousands for states with booming economies, while the tax burden increases for those remaining in Illinois.
 

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